Buyer Research

2022 Toyota Avalon — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $30,000–$37,000. This is one of the more reliable vehicles in its class — here's what to watch for anyway.

Deciding between model years? Compare the 13 Toyota Avalon years we've written up →

Kestrel Take

The last Avalon Toyota built for the US, and its record is eight complaints and no recalls — which is a description of how few people filed, not a grade. What is there is specific enough to act on: two original Bridgestone tires that came apart at the sidewall under 5,000 miles, one oil leak where the bank-one head gasket meets the timing cover with a $6,500 verbal quote, and an airbag warning that turned out to be a $50 seat-belt buckle switch after a dealer tried to charge $250 for the wrong side. It shares the 3.5L V6 and eight-speed with the 2019–2021 cars, where owners complained about rough low-speed shifting and an occupant-sensor recall that never reached this year. Buy it the way you would buy any late, low-mileage Toyota: check the tires' date codes and brand, look under the timing cover for weeping oil, drive it cold, and pay for the remaining factory warranty rather than assuming it.

What we checked

Checked against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 8 owner complaints for the 2022 Toyota Avalon, and no recall campaigns.

That is too small a record to read a pattern from, so we are not going to pretend otherwise — with numbers this low one owner moves the percentage by a lot. What has been filed is grouped under tyres (2), the engine (1), airbags (1). Treat those as things to look at, not as the vehicle's known weaknesses. A thin file usually means few of these were sold or few owners filed. It is not evidence the vehicle is trouble-free, and the issues below are our own research rather than a reading of this record.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2022 Toyota Avalon

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

Oil weeping from the timing cover joint at the bank-one head — quoted $6,500 in laborMedium

One 2022 owner was told at a routine service that oil was leaking from where the bank-one cylinder head gasket meets the timing cover, and verbally quoted about $6,500 because the timing cover has to come off the front of a transverse V6 to reseal it. A seep at the timing cover seam is a known trait of Toyota's 3.5L V6 family going back years; it usually starts as a damp film on the passenger side of the block and takes a long time to become a drip. One report is not a pattern, but the bill is big enough to look. With a flashlight, check the front of the engine below the passenger-side valve cover and the belly pan for fresh oil, and ask whether the seller ever had it noted at a dealer service. Some seeps are lived with for 100,000 miles; a real drip is a negotiation.

Repair cost (estimate): $1,500–$6,500 depending on shop and whether the timing cover comes off

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (1).

Original Bridgestone tires splitting at the sidewall with under 5,000 miles on themLow

Both tire complaints describe the same failure: a factory Bridgestone letting go at the outer sidewall seam with almost no miles on it — one at 35 psi on the placard, one a highway blowout where the pressure monitor went straight from fine to zero with no low-pressure warning first. Two reports on a national record is not a defect finding, but on a 2022 with original tires it is worth thirty seconds: read the DOT date code on each sidewall, look for bulges or cracking on the outer shoulder, and note the brand. A car that has already moved to a fresh set of tires has removed the question entirely.

Repair cost (estimate): $150–$300 per tire

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under tyres (2).

Airbag warning light traced to a seat-belt buckle switch — a $50 part, a $250 dealer quoteLow

The one airbag complaint is a useful one. The airbag malfunction warning came on; the dealer blamed the driver's seat-belt buckle switch and wanted $250; the owner replaced it himself for $50 and found it was the passenger buckle that was actually at fault. The buckle switch tells the airbag module whether the belt is latched, and a bad one lights the airbag warning across many Toyotas. If the light is on, do not accept an airbag module story without a scan showing the code — B-codes pointing at a buckle are cheap. The owner also mentions a passenger-side recall; there is none on file for the 2022, so if a dealer says otherwise, ask for the campaign number.

Repair cost (estimate): $50–$250

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under airbags (1).

Eight-speed automatic's low-speed shift quality, carried forward from earlier yearsMedium

The 2022 uses the same Aisin eight-speed as the 2019, where ten owners described jerky, delayed shifts below 25 mph and a shudder on the 2-3 change, and one replacement quote of $8,600. Nobody has filed that on the 2022 — on an eight-complaint record that means little either way — so treat it as the test to run, not the fault to expect. Start it cold, do a dozen stop-and-go cycles and a couple of slow, rolling corners. A clean, quiet 1-2 and 2-3 when cold is the pass; a clunk is a dealer software update first, and a reason to ask whether one has already been done.

Repair cost (estimate): $0–$400 for a software update; $4,500–$8,600 if a unit is ever replaced — about 26% of what this car is typically worth

Source: not yet checked against public records.

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Fresh oil film on the front of the engine below the passenger-side valve cover, or drips on the belly pan
✗Original tires with bulges, shoulder cracking, or a 2021–2022 date code and a seller who cannot say the brand
✗Airbag warning light on at startup
✗Clunky or delayed shifts below 25 mph when cold

Good Signs

✓Dry timing cover and belly pan under a flashlight
✓A replacement set of tires with a dated invoice
✓Airbag indicator cycling on and off normally at startup
✓Smooth cold shifts through a dozen stop-and-go cycles
✓Toyota dealer service history with the factory powertrain warranty still in force